New to BC, buying used car
 

Hello!

I've just moved to BC (last month) after 10+ years of living out of Canada.
I am looking at craigslist adds and notice a lot of the vehicles have no license plates on the pictures, is it a privacy thing or what?
I went at an Autoplan broker to get some info and quotes, I've been told it's ok as long as the registration is availablle. but I forgot to ask what do I do if I purchase the vehicle and it has no plates, do I just drive it to an autoplan without plates?

Thank you

Nicolas

You will need to go to an autoplan broker and get insurance on the car you purchased BEFORE you can drive it.

You can get a day permit (or multiple days) or you can get 3-6-12 months worth of insurance on the vehicle. But do not drive with no places (no insurance) on the car.

So if i understand correctly, I pay for the car, I get the registration signed by the owner + filled up vehicle ownership transfer, leave car, go to closest autoplan broker, get plates/registration and insurance then go back to car and drive home?

Yep you got it

Thanks guys!

Follow up question, I've been searching the web for a rental garage for DIY repairs, does this exist in BC (Vancouver area)? Where? how much or link?
all i found was some space rental for motorcycle repairs, no lift.

Thanks

There used to be a shop in New Westminster but they shut down due to liability reasons.

Too bad!

Another question, in BC when a car owner puts his vehicle as security for a loan or debt, doesn't the entity loaning keep the original registration and give the owner back a document replacing the registration, so he can still use the vehicle normally, at the same time if a individual wants to purchase said vehicle, he will automatically know by seeing this document that the vehicle has a lien, without having to go through a lien search?

I dont think you can use your vehicle as collateral for a loan or other goods/services. Never seen or heard anyone doing that.

Ok then, what about financing a vehicle purchase (used/new car dealer)?
for example someone buys/finances a new/used car from a dealer, does that someone walk out the dealer with the original registration papers, can he sell this vehicle and the buyer not know about the remaining payments owed by looking at the registration/papers?
(for example in NY if a vehicle is financed or used as collateral, your original registration papers are held by the company loaning/financing and the DMV issues a new registration stating clearly the vehicle has a lien on it, this way you the buyer know something is up)

New to BC, buying used car
 

if you are lucky you have access to r1 plates like me. if not its best to do the deal at the autobrokers. That way you can sit inside take your time and they'll be right there to assist with any questions. you can also make sure they don't own any money on the car or anything like that.

What's up with R1 plates? more info please?

EDIT:

How would they help in a liens scenario?

one extremely important thing to remember, you will HAVE to pay tax on the used vehicle you have just purchased at the place you do your transfer paper, it is based on the value of the car and is 12% IIRC. So keep that in mind when looking for your next ride.

You won't be able to get R1 plates.

It is most definitely 12% ...

Curious where are you from tinico?

Welcome to Revscene.

They are repair plates. Only shops have them. They're really handy for importing cars. You can toss them on any car and you get instant insurance on them. Best thing for you is to do the deal at an auto insurance broker.

I bought a used car last weekend, and I went through a couple different steps when checking out potential buys.

1) [Free] Run it through the ICBC status check to see if it's a rebuilt: https://onlinebusiness.icbc.com/vdwq.../WelcomeAction

2) [Free] Use MyCarFax to see what (if any) maintenance history is listed: https://www.mycarfax.com/login

3) [$75] If both of the free checks look good, get a CarProof for a full history check including liens: https://www.carproof.com/

It was a pain paying $75 for each car I wanted to CarProof, but in the end it save me from even looking at a car that had a lot of small accidents that would've had a lot of bondo work involved.

I'd also suggest finalizing the deal with the seller at an insurance broker, that way you have them on hand if any of the transfer form was incorrectly done. The seller will need to go in to cancel their insurance anyways so it shouldn't be a problem for them.

Long story short, I've been living in Haiti for most of my life.

I believe this confirms that just by looking at the vehicle registration, it is impossible to tell of a lien?

That $75 check is what i was hoping not to have to pay/do for each vehicle I check. Hopefully the 1st one I check will be the right one.

That's correct, you can't tell if there's a lien by just looking at the registration. Are you looking for a specific car or do you have a list of cars that you may get?

Correct, you need to do a lien check to know if there is a lien.

One thing I forgot is that some Service BC locations (www.servicebc.gov.bc.ca/locations/) do a free lien check, however you have to do it in person. I've never used one though so I can't confirm if they only do BC or if they do Canada wide as well. Even then I'd still want to do a CarProof to get the full history of a car. Just factor in a few checks as part of the cost of getting a new car (just like taxes, fluid changes, etc) and it makes it a lot easier to think about.

OK Got it!

Thank you all for the help.

Nicolas

What kind of car are you looking for anyways?

In case the OP haven't seen this yet, you might want to take a look at this thread for ideas on good buys.

http://www.revscene.net/forums/69470...-buys-233.html

@Traum
Yes! I check it regularly, thanks